Mid-match injury

[GraemeS]

Had a tricky time today, as I managed to roll my ankle and fall over about 30 minutes into the match. Immediately very sore, but carried on for the next few minutes until a goal was scored. Had the home team manager put some spray on it at that point and hobbled on until half time, when the home team manager strapped my ankle up - it had visibly swollen by this point.

Found myself with very limited mobility for the second half, essentially walking from one end of the middle third to the other. Don't think I got anything horribly wrong, but a couple of pushes and trips that I didn't see as clearly as I would have liked did make my life a lot harder. Both teams were pretty handsy at set pieces and I very rarely managed to get myself in a suitable position to make a certain decision, meaning I waved play on perhaps more than I normally would in a game that was starting to get a little heated.

The losing team manager was kind enough to come up to me after the match and tell me he thought I had a good game, but I felt like I just didn't have the mobility to get into positions to make credible calls for over half of the match. Should I have come off and asked the teams to nominate a suitable person to take over? Or is an immobile but impartial & qualified ref still a better choice than asking for volunteers?

 

[Tealeaf]

It really depends on you and how you feel.

Now that sounds obtuse and stating the bleeding obvious at the same time, but it's a genuine statement!

Some injuries you can carry on with, others are difficult. I've only ever had to come off once, and that was 12 minutes in. To this day not sure exactly what it was but a hamstring went rigid and I couldn't even walk, let alone run. Others I've been able to go on with after some treatment. So long as you're able to get about it's often worth a go, but if you really can't get there, then you owe it to yourself as much as anyone else to call it a day and hand over.

Most league rules state that they have to agree a substitute or face action for causing the game to be abandoned so they'll agree pretty sharpish.

As for today, you were mobile if restricted, so it seems OK. Had there been a flashpoint would your positivity have been the same? Would they have been as understanding? Tough call in honesty, but honesty is what you need here. As I said before if you really can't do it, you have to throw in the towel

 

[CapnBloodbeard]

Been in a similar situation before. On that game I came to the honest conclusion that even being out of position and behind play, I would still put in a better job than a club ref. Depends on the game though - one that was faster, more end-to-end and more aggressive and I may not have drawn the same conclusion.
When that happens, I just put in even more effort into preemptive positioning. It's actually surprising sometimes just how often you can still be in a reasonable position from walking if you're putting a lot of effort into thinking really hard about where play is going to go.

 

[richard ramjane]

same thought went through my head yesterday morning weirdly, as i put my foot in a small divot about half an hour into my game.
i managed to get my foot up quick enough to avoid injury but the thought flashed into my head 'what if i had hurt myself, what would i do?'
and realised i didnt have a clue !
sorry to hear you've done yours @GraemeS , hopefully wont be too long a recovery

 

[lincs22]

Had a tricky time today, as I managed to roll my ankle and fall over about 30 minutes into the match. Immediately very sore, but carried on for the next few minutes until a goal was scored. Had the home team manager put some spray on it at that point and hobbled on until half time, when the home team manager strapped my ankle up - it had visibly swollen by this point.

Found myself with very limited mobility for the second half, essentially walking from one end of the middle third to the other. Don't think I got anything horribly wrong, but a couple of pushes and trips that I didn't see as clearly as I would have liked did make my life a lot harder. Both teams were pretty handsy at set pieces and I very rarely managed to get myself in a suitable position to make a certain decision, meaning I waved play on perhaps more than I normally would in a game that was starting to get a little heated.

The losing team manager was kind enough to come up to me after the match and tell me he thought I had a good game, but I felt like I just didn't have the mobility to get into positions to make credible calls for over half of the match. Should I have come off and asked the teams to nominate a suitable person to take over? Or is an immobile but impartial & qualified ref still a better choice than asking for volunteers?

The question is "Did you feel that you were not in control?" If you doubt your ability to control, then you have to come off. Whether you are to be replaced is the decision for the teams, in light of league rules.

If you feel that you are in control, do both teams understand the position and act accordingly. While you may feel in control, some players may use your lack of mobility to settle matters on your blind side.

There is no right answer, but did continuing make the injury worse??

MODS - Can we have a emoji in bandages?

 

[GraemeS]

The question is "Did you feel that you were not in control?" If you doubt your ability to control, then you have to come off. Whether you are to be replaced is the decision for the teams, in light of league rules.

If you feel that you are in control, do both teams understand the position and act accordingly. While you may feel in control, some players may use your lack of mobility to settle matters on your blind side.

There is no right answer, but did continuing make the injury worse??

MODS - Can we have a emoji in bandages?

It's tricky, because I actually felt I had a pretty poor opening 20 minutes before the injury. I wasn't in the best position for a couple of decisions early on regardless and then I wasn't explaining those decisions particularly well - perhaps because I wasn't internally sure of the decision. I don't know if it was sympathy, skill/determination from me or just pure luck, but I had a couple of calls soon after the injury that I managed to sell well and clearly (including a dissent caution for an over the top reaction on a pretty clear but minor shirt pull), which actually resulting in me feeling more in control after the injury than before.

And unfortunately, I'm pretty certain I did make the injury worse. I was still attempting a slow jog on occasions (it's surprisingly hard to resist running!) and I think even walking was probably more than I should have been attempting in all honesty. Had my feet up all day yesterday and today and it does feel better, but not by a huge amount.

 

[PinnerPaul]

I tore/pulled my meniscus in a game once - carried on - made injury worse, I'm sure.

Won't ever do that again - your health is more important than ANY football match, let alone one at the levels we operate at.